Alice Waters’ roast chicken

Cookstr.com lets you search by author, season or ingredient. Here is influential Californian restaurateur Alice Waters' take on roast chicken. "One trick is to salt and pepper the bird a day in advance, to cure it very lightly. This produces a bird thoroughly seasoned down to the bone." Serves four.

INGREDIENTS

1 roasting chicken, weighing about 1.5kg to 2kg,

1 tbsp salt,

Tsp fresh cracked black pepper,

A few sprigs thyme or marjoram

Rinse the bird with cold water and pat dry. Liberally salt and pepper the entire bird, inside the cavity and all over the surface.

Carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat with your index finger. Stuff tender sprigs of thyme or marjoram under the skin. Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator at least an hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450F/230C/Gas mark 8. Place the chicken, breast up, in a roasting pan or earthenware baking dish, and roast for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350F, cook for another 45 minutes, turning the bird twice so each wing side is up in turn – this will circulate the juices and fat. Let the chicken rest for ten minutes before carving.

Don’t ignore the caramelised drippings in the pan. After the fat is poured off, the pan can be deglazed with white wine and the juices added to a sauce or vinaigrette.